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Choose the safest route possible. Choose a route with sidewalks if you can, and which crosses very few, if any, busy streets. If there is a construction project in progress on one street, make a route which avoids the construction, even if this will result in a longer walk.

Walk the route with your child before sending your child alone. If the route is difficult to remember, or if the child is very young, you may want to walk the route several times together before the child has to walk alone. Do this before the first day of school, or plan on meeting your child for the first few days of school.

Identify safe houses along the route. Point out the homes of family friends where the child might stop for help in case of trouble. Quiz the child as you pass these homes so that they will learn to recognize the right homes.

Make sure your child knows how to dial for emergency help. Put on speed dial the local emergency number in your area, as well as that of yourself and the other relatives or friends you know will be available to help your child if the need arises.

Teach your child about special seasonal hazards. There are some hazards that only arise in particular seasons. One important hazard is to warn children to keep well away from snow clearing vehicles. If children see snow clearing of a bank at the edge of a street crossing, tell your children to stand well back until the snow plough or vehicle has left. Children have come to grief by falling under such equipment as it is being used and it is often impossible for the driver to see children in this situation. Another big danger is storm water drains filling quickly during rainy weather. Make sure that your children understand that it is never OK to cross such drains or play in them. In some regions, these drains can fill very quickly without warning and even strong swimmers cannot escape the swirling water.

Tips

Next time you move, think about the walk to school as you make your buying or renting decision. Choose a neighborhood with sidewalks on both sides of the street, a neighborhood with a good school very close by, and a neighborhood with many children. This way your child will be able to walk in the company of other children, along a short route to school on safe streets. You will also be holding a very hot commodity when it comes time to resell, because this is the kind of home which many parents want to buy.

You can always ask another parent for assistance with keeping children safe. Speak to parents and retired people who are home during the school walk hours and let them know that your child will be walking alone and that you would appreciate their keeping an eye out.

Walk against the traffic. While walking home, have your children walk with traffic coming towards them. If a car starts to pull over next to them, your child has the opportunity to run yelling and screaming in the direction the car was coming. That forces the car to have to turn around to chase them. If your child is walking with traffic they will not see or hear cars coming up from behind them.

Warnings

Check your child's backpack weight for walking. A growing child should not be overburdened by a too heavy backpack, which will be especially burdensome when walking. If your child appears to be carrying too much, ask your school to take it easy on the additional books, or ask if it is possible to keep books at school and home rather than having your child carry heavy books to and fro.

Make sure your children understand the rules for Emergency Service usage. In most communities, this number is reserved only for emergencies, but in others, it is the preferred number for police contact on any issues.

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 21 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 26,095 times.